This invention relates to a display device, and more particularly to a liquid-crystal display device that displays information in the finder of a camera.
Recently, cameras capable of taking pictures of different sizes, such as a panorama size and a normal size, have been developed. With such conventional cameras capable of taking pictures of different sizes, to display an image by switching between panorama and normal in the finder, a positive-type LCD (liquid-crystal display), such as a guest-host (GH) LCD or a twisted nematic (TN) LCD, has been used in the finder section.
The technique for using a macromolecular-dispersion-type liquid crystal in the finder of a camera has been disclosed in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 5-165017. This type of liquid crystal is a negative-type LCD that turns to the transmitting state when a voltage is applied and to the scattering state when no voltage is applied. Since the macromolecular-dispersion-type liquid crystal has a large degree of scattering, using it in the finder of a camera makes the amount of rays of light going directly to the pupil very small. This makes it possible to construct a finder with higher contrast than that of the twisted nematic type or the guest-host type.
Some of conventional twisted nematic LCDs are of the negative type. In recent years, negative-type liquid crystal has been available in various types.
Recent cameras, particularly cameras using a film with a magnetic recording section, have three modes of angle of view, highvision, classic, and panorama, as shown in FIGS. 25A, 25B, and 25C. According to each mode of angle of view, the corresponding display has to be made.
FIGS. 26A and 26B show the layout of a display device using a negative-type LCD to achieve the three modes of finder display by a simple method. FIG. 26A is a front view of the LCD (common; COM side) and FIG. 26B is a rear view of the LCD (segment; SEG side).
As shown in FIG. 26A, the COM side is composed of a single electrode 1. The SEG side is divided into nine regions, which include an electrode 3 in the middle, electrodes 4 and 5 provided to the right and left sides of the electrode 3, electrodes 6 and 7 provided above and below the electrode 3, and electrodes 8, 9, 10, and 11 at the corners provided between the electrode 4, 5 and the electrodes 6, 7. The electrodes on the SEG side are classified into four groups: the electrode 3 in the middle, the electrode 4, 5 at the right and left, the electrodes 6, 7 at the top and bottom, and the electrodes 8 to 11 at the corners.
The signals supplied to the individual electrodes are two types of pulses a and b, one of which is the reverse of the other in phase. With the supply of such pulses, an angle of view for highvision, classic, or panorama is created as shown in FIG. 25A, 25B, or 25C.
Specifically, in the highvision mode, signal a is supplied to the electrode 1 on the COM side and signal b is supplied to the electrodes 3 to 11 on the SEG side. As a result, all the nine regions on the SEG side are 180 degrees out-of-phase with the COM side and present the transmitting state as shown in FIG. 27A.
In the classic mode, signal a is supplied to the electrode 1 on the COM side and the electrodes 4, 5 and 8 to 11 and signal b is supplied to the electrodes 3, 6, 7 on the SEG side. As a result, the regions of the electrodes 3, 6, 7 on the SEG side are 180 degrees out-of-phase with the COM side and present the transmitting state as shown in FIG. 27B.
In the panorama mode, signal a is supplied to the electrode 1 on the COM side and the electrodes 6 to 11 on the SEG side and signal b is supplied to the electrodes 3 to 5 on the SEG side. As a result, the regions of the electrodes 3 to 5 on the SEG side are 180 degrees out-of-phase with the COM side and present the transmitting state as shown in FIG. 27C.
In such a display device, the electrode on the SEG side has been divided into nine regions and leads for drawing the electrodes outside have been formed as shown in FIG. 26B. The leads for the electrodes 4 to 11 cause no problem in running on the layout.
The lead for the electrode 3 in the middle, however, takes the form of a projecting part 13 because the electrode 3 is located in the middle of the layout. The projecting part 13 is unsightly even in the highvision or panorama mode. Particularly in the classic mode, since the projecting part 13 is visible outside the angle of view, it is very unsightly, degrading the quality of the display.
A first object of the present invention is to provide a display device which prevents a projecting part from appearing in a display with any angle of view and making the display unsightly in a liquid crystal capable of changing the angle of view.
A second object of the present invention is to provide a display device which prevents the quality of visual field of a finder from deteriorating without increasing the accuracy of alignment of the front pattern with the back pattern in a liquid crystal capable of changing the angle of view.
To accomplish the first object, a display device according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises: a liquid crystal capable of displaying a central region, a first peripheral region at the periphery of the central region, and a second peripheral region at the periphery of the central region and differing from the first peripheral region; a first electrode connected to a region including the central region and first peripheral region of the liquid crystal; and a second electrode connected to a region including the central region and second peripheral region of the liquid crystal, wherein the display regions of the liquid crystal are controlled by supplying driving signals to the first electrode and second electrode.
To accomplish the first object, a display device according to a second aspect of the present invention comprises: a transmission-type liquid crystal which enables a central region, a first peripheral region at the periphery of the central region, and a second peripheral region at the periphery of the central region and differing from the first peripheral region to transmit light; a first electrode pattern which is provided on a first face that holds a liquid crystal agent of the transmission-type liquid crystal sandwiched and which includes the central region and the first peripheral region; a second electrode pattern which is provided on a second face that faces the first face that holds the liquid crystal agent of the transmission-type liquid crystal sandwiched and which includes the central region and the second peripheral region, wherein the transmitting regions of the transmission-type liquid crystal are controlled by supplying driving signals to the first electrode pattern and the second electrode pattern.
To accomplish the first object, a display device according to a third aspect of the present invention comprises: a transmission-type liquid crystal which enables a central region, a first peripheral region at the periphery of the central region, and a second peripheral region at the periphery of the central region and differing from the first peripheral region to transmit light; a first electrode pattern which is provided on a first face that holds a liquid crystal agent of the transmission-type liquid crystal sandwiched and which includes the central region and the first peripheral region; a second electrode pattern which is provided on a second face that faces the first face that holds the liquid crystal agent of the transmission-type liquid crystal sandwiched and which includes the central region and the second peripheral region; a third electrode pattern which is provided on the first face and includes the second peripheral region; and a fourth electrode pattern which is provided on the second face and includes the first peripheral region, wherein the transmitting regions of the transmission-type liquid crystal are selected by supplying driving signals to the first electrode pattern, the second electrode pattern, the third electrode pattern, and the fourth electrode pattern.
To accomplish the first object, a display device according to a fourth aspect of the present invention comprises: a transmission-type liquid crystal which enables a central region, a first peripheral region at the periphery of the central region, and a second peripheral region at the periphery of the central region and differing from the first peripheral region to transmit light; a first electrode pattern provided on one side of the transmission-type liquid crystal; and a second electrode pattern provided on the other side of the transmission-type liquid crystal and facing the first electrode pattern, wherein the first electrode pattern includes the central region and the first peripheral region, the second electrode pattern includes the central region and the second peripheral region, and the transmitting regions of the transmission-type liquid crystal are controlled by supplying driving signals to the first electrode pattern and the second electrode pattern.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, to accomplish the second object, there is provided a display device for a camera which uses a liquid crystal to make a display in plural screen sizes in the finder visual field of the camera, comprising: a first face electrode which is provided on a first face of the liquid crystal and composed of plural electrodes and a first inter-electrode region, the first inter-electrode region being a region between the plural electrodes where no electrode exists; a second face electrode which is provided on a second face facing the first face of the liquid crystal and is composed of plural electrodes and a second inter-electrode region, the second inter-electrode region being a region between the plural electrodes where no electrode exists, wherein a central region enclosed only by the first inter-electrode region and the second inter-electrode region is formed in the finder visual field, and a display is made according to the screen size within the finder by supplying driving signals to the first face electrode and second face electrode.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out hereinafter.